Deep well pump



Nov. 5, 1940- -E.. o. HOLMBERG DEEP WELL PUMP Filed March 21, less 2Sheets-Shea?. l

@Ham/:erg INVENTOR.

Einar I I I I II I., I I I n r I 1 h I lb. I II,... ./IIIII. IIIII. ,I

ATTORNEY.

Nov. 5, 1940.

E.o. HOLMBERG DEEP WELL PUMP 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 21, 193s 51mlO Holmberg 1NVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 5, 1940 UNITED STATESl PATENT OFFICE DEEP WELL PUMPApplication March 21, 1,938, Serial No. 197,103

Claims.

This invention relates to deep well pumps for pumping oil or other uidsfrom deep wells.

An object of the invention is to provide an im-` proved deep Well pumpwhich is electrically driven and which avoids the necessity for usingthe sucker rods that have heretofore been eX- tensively employed foractuating oil well pumps.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus in which apower pump utilizes the well fluid to operate a fluid motor which inturn operates the well pump.

In accordance with the invention a low pressure large volume rotarypower pump is driven by an electric motor and delivers fluid to a seriesof pistons in multiple, effecting reciprocation of the plunger of theWell pump which delivers a relatively small volume of iluid atrelatively high pressure.

Other objects of the invention will be clear from the accompanyingdescription and the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the deep Well pump of thisinvention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section" that used for-Fig. 5 andshowing the valve seated at the other extremity of its travel;

Fig. 7 is a transverse section on the line 'I-l of Fig. 5; and

g Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through another embodiment of theDumping unit which may be more desirable under certain conditions.

In providin'g'an electric motor driven deep well pump the probleml ofutilizing the high speed;

rotary drive for pumping has been a dilcult one to solve. If a rotarywell pump is used, it will necessarily have small clearances in order towork.

against the high pressure head ofthe huid, and would soon be ruined bysand or grit in the crude D oil or liquid pumped. Acentrifugalor'/`turbine type pump-Would be free from this trouble sinceclearances do not need to be kept small, butv these pumps are adapted topump large quantities of uid against a low head and are not so suitable5 for pumping a small quantity against a high (Cl. S-46) face of theground. In this Way use is made of the superiority of power transmissionby electricity as compared to transmission by sucker rods; the electricmotor is directly connected to a high speed rotary pump which is of suchnature as not to be injured by' the passage of sand or E 4,

'grit through it; and full advantage is taken of the Well recognizedsuitability rof reciprocating pumps for pumping from deep wells.

Referring to the drawings-in which the embod.

iments shown are adapted particularly to pump- 1 ing from oil Wells andparticularly to Fig. 1, the pumping unit comprises a shell I from whichan electric cable 2 and a tubing string 3 for the pumped fluid lead tothe surface of the earth. An electric motor 4 is direct connected to theimpeller of a turbine or centrifugal pump 5 which takes in crude oilthrough conduit 6 and dis` charges it through conduit 'I. In using thisunit in a Well 8 the inlet 6 will be submerged a suitableydistance belowthe oil level 9. Conduit I terminates in port Ill in the reversing valveII. Conduits I2 and I3 lead from the reversing Valve I I to the upperand lower ends respectively, of cylinders I4, of which six are shown inthe embodiment illustrated. These cylinders are arranged in line and aretraversed by a piston rod I5 which carries pistons I6V reciprocablewithin the cylinders. n Suitable packings I'I seal the piston rod whereit passes through the ends of the cylinders. 'I'he crude oil pump I8 forpumping crude oll to the surface of the ground comprises a cylinder I9,a piston connected to the piston rod I5, and ball .check valves 2 l,22and 23. Conduit I2 communicates with the upper end of cylinder I9through check valve 2l so that useis made of the pressure developed byrotary pump l to supply oil to the crude oil pump I8 on its -downstroke.

The reversing valve II comprises a valve stem v24, a disc shaped valvemember 25 rigidly secured ,Y to thevalve stem, and annular valve members26 respectively, with fluid conduits I2 and I3. 'I'he valve seats 33 and34 are somewhat larger than valve seats 35 and 36 so as to give anunbalanced pressure tending to keep the valve seated in whicheverposition it may be.

When the valve occupies the position shown in Fig. 5, crude oil from therotary pump 5 passes through conduit 1, and ports III and 32 to theconduit I3 which conducts it to the lower ends of the cylinders I4. Oilin the upper end of the cylinders I4 passes down conduit I2 and throughport 3I to conduit 31 from which it is discharged back into the well.Under these conditions the pistons I6 and the piston rod I5 are drivenup-l wards. The cylinders I4 areas large in diameter as the size of theWell permits and take crude oil in parallel from pump 5.l A large.volume of fluid is therefore required to cause substantial upward motion ofthe piston rod. Only a moderate pressure is required, however, to exerta very considerable force on the piston rod since the pressure isapplied to the comparatively large areas of each piston and the forcesex:

erted on the pistons are all added together by 25.virtue of theattachment of all pistons to the common piston rod. Consequently thelarge volume of low pressure fluid from pump 5 is used to produce aconsiderable force on the piston rod I5, and this in turn `^is used todrive pump I8 to 30 pump a small volume of crude oill against the highpressure exerted by an oil column reaching vfrom the pump to the surfaceof the ground.

As the pistons I4 near the upper end of their stroke, the reversingvalve is thrown to the posi- 35 tion shown in Fig. 6 by means which aredescribed hereinafter. In this position the ow of fluid to cylinders I4is'reversed and the pistons within the cylinders are forced downward,the

oil below the pistons being discharged back into o the well throughconduit I3, the reversing valve,

and conduit 38.

The reversing valve is operated by the motion of the piston rod I5 towhich an extension 39 is attached. A pin 4U passes through a slot 4I inrod 39 and through the intersection of two forked toggle arms 42 and 43.Slots 44 and 45 at the outer ends of toggle arms 42 and 43 engage xedpins 46 and 41. cause the toggle arms to depart as far as pos- 50 siblefrom the straight line joining pins 46 and 41. The valve stem 24 isconnected to the reversing valve mechanism by rod 49 with slot 50through which pin 40 passes.

When the valve and the valve operating mechanism have the configurationsillustrated in Figs. 3 and 5 the distribution of uid to cylinders|4 issuch as to cause upward` motion of piston rod I5 and its extension 33.'No eiIeet upon the valve operating mechanism is produced until the 60upward motion of the pistons brings the lower end 5I of slot 4I intocontact with pin 40: 'I'his- 70 on the valve tends to keep it seated.Continued upward imotion of the piston. rod I5 and its extension 39ultimatelycarries the toggle arms 42 and 43 past their dead centerposition, after y which springs 48 cause them to move pin 40 rap- 75idly upward. The pin comes into contact with."

Springs 48 tend to the upper end 52 of slot 50 and forces rod 49 andvalve stem 24 upward thus throwing the reversing valve to its otherposition as shown in Fig. 6 and reversing the motion of the pumpplunger. Toward the end of the downstroke of rod I5 the upper end ofslot 4I engages pin 4!! and forces it downward past the dead center oftoggle arms 42 and 43, thus causing the valve to be shifted again.

In wells where salt water is present along with the oil the passage ofa. mixture of the two through a centrifugal or turbine pump produces anemulsion which it is dimcult to separate into its l'constltuents. Withthe embodiment illustratedlinFlg. l, all the oil pumped to the surfaceby pump I8 has first passed through the rotary pump 5 and may have beenemulsiiied to a greater or lesser extent. In the embodiment illustratedin Fig. 8 the pump I8 takes oil directly from the well through conduit53 and pumps it to the surface. The centrifugal or turbine pump 5 simplyrecirculates crude oil taken from and discharged back into a region ofthe well above that which supplies oil to pump I8. By suitablyrestricting communication between these regions of the well only aninsignificant amount of emulslfled fluid will nd access to pump I8through conduit 53. If desired, an entirely closed cir- I pistons by theuid pressure will be added together, a reciprocating pump driven by thepiston rod, said reciprocating pump being adapted to pump the desiredquantity of well fluid against a pressure head corresponding to theheight to which it is desired to pump the fluid, a rotary motor,-.arotary pump driven by the rotary motor and adapted to pump fluid at arate in excess of that-at which it is desired to remove fluid from thewell but at a lower pressure than Awould suillce to elevate the fluidfrom the well, means to direct the fluid pumped by the rotary pumpalternately to opposite ends of the cylinders in which the plurality ofpistons mounted on the piston rod travel s'o as to produce reciprocatingmotion of the piston rod, an inlet from the well A to the rotary pump,and an outlet from the rotary pump to the means used to control thedistribution of the uid which it pumps.

2. In a submersible unit for pumping fluid from 1 a. deep well thecombination of a reciprocating pump adapted .to-pump well fluid at thedesired rate against the necessary head, a rotary pump adapted to pumpalarger quantity of well fluid against a. lower head, a rotary motor todrive the rotary pump, and a reciprocating hydraulic motor adapted todrive the reciprocating pump and to be driven by the fluid pumped by therotary pump, the reciprocating hydraulic motor comdem, pistons movabletherein, and a common piston rod to which'the pistons are secured.

3. A submersible pump for pumping fluid from a deep well which comprisesa hydraulic motor 'zoY prising a plurality of cylinders arranged inVtanl With a plurality o f cylinders arranged in tandem. pistons movablewithin said cylinders, a common piston rod to Which the pistons aresecured, a reciprocating pump driven by the motion of the piston rod, arotary electric motor, a rotary pump driven by the rotary motor andoperating on the iluid from the Well, a reversing valve for controllingthe distribution of uid pumped by the rotary motor, fluid conduits fromthe reversing valve to the cylinders arranged in tandem, said conduitsbeing arranged to conduct fluid to and exhaust it from the correspondingends of all the cylinders, and means controlled by the motion of thepiston rod .for throwing the reversing valve as the piston rod nearseach end of its stroke, said rotary pump also supplying Well uid underinitial low pressure to said reciprocating pump.

4. A submersible unit for pumping fluid from a deep Well, comprising an'electric motor, a reciprocating well pump, a reciprocating fluid motorfor driving said well pump, and a high speed large volume low pressurerotary pump driven by said electric motor and operating on fluid fromsaid well for driving said reciprocating uid motor.

5. A submersible unit for pumping uid from a deep well, comprising anelectric motor, a reciprocating well pump, a reciprocating fluid motorfor driving said well pump, a high speed large volume low pressurerotary pump driven by said electric motor and operating on fluid fromsaid well for driving said reciprocating fluid motor, and means forsupplying low pressure Well fluid from the rotary pump to thereciprocating Well pump.

EINAR O. HOLMBERG.

